by Sandy » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:58 pm
Frank Page was a relatively unknown pastor of mid-sized Southern Baptist churches almost right up to the time he was first elected SBC President. He was at Gambrell Street in Ft. Worth when I was in seminary at Southwestern, which was a moderate Baptist congregation with an attendance of about 400 largely because it was across the street from the seminary, and because it had about a dozen "house churches" scattered throughout the neighborhood. He became a known quantity only after arriving at FBC Taylors, SC, which also isn't really in the SBC megachurch classification. His involvement in the state convention came at a time when there was division among the messengers resulting from Wade Burleson's treatment as an IMB trustee, and growing displeasure at the prospect of electing yet another megachurch pastor whose church collected large amounts of dollars, but barely tipped the CP. I don't think you'd find that he's involved in any kind of secular political activity. The core leadership of the CR allowed his selection as Exec Director to pass because the issue of CP support is still strong, and they couldn't afford another one of their prominent members to be embarrassed by being voted down. Events surrounding his election provide evidence that his grip on the leadership of the SBC isn't firm, and he doesn't wield much influence among the hard core CR inner circle. It's not "Frank Page's SBC," not by a long shot. My guess is that his "silence" on Demint and on secular politics in general, is nothing more than the exercise of his better judgement.
Richard Land, like Judge Pressler, had aspirations for appointment to a Bush administration post. They both did a lot of hobnobbing but their connections to the former Texas governor were minimal and distant. Pressler wound up as a liability and got a very minor, fourth level job in some obscure commission. Land never got anywhere. He was heart and soul for Romney during the 2008 primaries, and most Southern Baptist Republicans didn't follow him there, choosing McCain or Huckabee instead. There isn't one Southern Baptist in a hundred who would recognize the name Richard Land, or who would be able to tell you what he does.